


Fingers and Hands

by Kalloway



Series: Brightest Blue Eyes [4]
Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-09
Updated: 2019-02-09
Packaged: 2019-10-24 23:46:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17713973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kalloway/pseuds/Kalloway
Summary: So perhaps something finally does happen between Vincent and Pretty?





	Fingers and Hands

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted April 29, 2004. A failed challenge attempt, lol. The italics _are_ intentional. *cough*
> 
> As with previous ficlets, set during BBE's Ch. 8 timeskip.

_"C'mon, c'mon, you're too slow!" Pretty chided, gesturing for Vincent to follow her along the dirt path that lead to the back hot spring. It was the very best among the four separate springs that bubbled up at the resort, however it was also the one that guests were not permitted to use._

_There was something about it, deep in the woods, that wasn't quite normal. Unlike the other pools, there was no solid carved rock bottom. Or, if there had been one to match the other pools, it was now lost to the ages._

_Each pool had a wall with carvings, perhaps messages or prayers to one deity or another. The details were lost to time and thousands of hands running over them, as well as the elements. Pretty liked to pretend she could read the ancient text, but truthfully she could do little more than trace each design with her fingertips and wonder what she was invoking._

_She and Vincent were alone for a rare bit of time. Usually Angel and Cloud would have been with them, but Angel and Cloud had decided it was much more important to get naked elsewhere._

_Vincent just managed a slight smile as he walked. He didn't bother walking any faster. It was enough, he had decided, that he was catering to all of the woman's other whims. He was even wearing one of the hideous floral patterned shirts that she had bought for him as a bit of a gift and a bit of a joke. It only served to make him look more pale and exotic, his face framed by his long black hair._

_"Argh! C'mon!" Pretty whined, kicking at the dirt. As usual, she wasn't wearing any shoes._

_"The spring isn't about to leave without us," Vincent said, still meandering along. He kept looking out into the woods for any interloping monsters, though the last few months had been quiet. Pretty wasn't armed, but Vincent had a gun with him. He always had a gun with him._

_Pretty just sighed._

_"Fine," she said. "But if it did leave without us, I'm not going to be happy."_

_She missed the slight smile that threatened to form on Vincent's face as she turned to bounce off the path a few feet. Vincent didn't say anything. He just watched as she bent to pick a couple of small flowers that were almost immediately tucked into her messy hair._

_With a grin, Pretty looked at her accidental protector. "I just had an idea."_

_"And that would be?" Vincent asked, not pausing with his steps. He knew full well the answer could be anything from a change in breakfast the next morning to something having to do with the stars in the sky._

_"If I could figure out how to tie all the flowers from the woods together, I could make a crown," Pretty said, looking out into the nightblooms in the forest._

_"And be Princess of Mideel," Vincent replied. He liked indulging her little fantasies. There was something about her that made him feel a little more human. She never shrunk away from him, even when he changed during battle. It was comforting._

_"I could be a princess," Pretty retorted, a pout forming. "I don't know who I was before."_

_"The only place in the world that still has a princess is Wutai," Vincent said. "And I know that Princess rather well."_

_"Anyone ever tell you that you aren't much fun?" Pretty shot back, running the next few yards to the clearing where the pool was._

_"Fun has rarely been in my job description." Vincent watched as Pretty reached back to untie the bathing suit top she was wearing._

_"Yet you always come with me," Pretty said, having trouble with the knot behind her back. It seemed to have slipped from being a bow to being a mass of cords not wanting to go one direction or the other._

_Without asking, Vincent walked over to guide Pretty's hands down so he could take a try at the tangle. The cool of his claw was a contrast to the warm evening and Pretty couldn't help a shiver._

_"Sorry," Vincent said softly, weaving one end over the other and managing to get half the knot removed._

_"It's okay," Pretty replied. "Thank you."_

_The rest of the knot fell free and the top hung loose, not covering much but still tied at Pretty's neck. Automatically Pretty's hands went up, but they hit against Vincent's which were pushing Pretty's hair away._

_She made a small noise, more in shock than anything else. That tie was still in a nice bow, and in a second Pretty's top fell away, held by Vincent and the one string grasped by his claw._

_"Fair's fair!" Pretty said, turning to grab at the buttons to Vincent's shirt. The two had seen each other naked more times than either could be bothered to count. They'd known one another for years, yet for some reason something seemed different._

_"What?" Pretty asked as her fingers finally paused on the last button. She knew Vincent was watching her intently._

_"Something I think of every now and again," Vincent replied, reaching to cup Pretty's chin with his right hand and lift it up ever so slightly. Pretty found herself staring into the abyss of Vincent's red eyes, not quite understanding what was happening. It seemed more like something that would happen between her brother and Cloud._

_And then it hit her, just about the same moment that Vincent's lips met hers. She was being kissed and there was a definite reason for it. Rae had always teased about the ambiguity of Pretty and Vincent's relationship, leaving Pretty confused as to just what others saw. Maybe all the time she'd been clueless, Vincent really had liked her._

_Thoughts rushed in and out of her mind like a current, leaving her a bit disoriented when Vincent pulled away._

_"Pretty?"_

_"You... just... Wow." It was all she could think to say. Vincent turned to hang his shirt and Pretty's top on the small rack that sat beside the pool._

_"I didn't intend to startle you," Vincent said after a moment. He'd paused with his hand on his zipper, looking over at Pretty who hadn't so much as moved except to bring her hand up to her lips._

_"Do it again sometime," Pretty said, lowering her hand and smiling. "But really, if we don't get in, the spring may leave without us."_

_Most of the time, Pretty was unshakeable._

_Still, all of a sudden their impending nudity seemed a little awkward. Pretty stripped off her shorts as quickly as possible and rushed into the pool, pretending she was just making sure the pool wasn't planning anything. Vincent didn't seem as bothered, joining Pretty a moment later._

_Neither one said anything for a couple of minutes, each taking quick glances at the other._

_"Okay," Pretty said after another minute of silence. "Now could be good."_

_Vincent managed a smile. "I wouldn't want to rush you."_

Pretty couldn't help a giggle as she paused to crack her knuckles.

"I don't suppose I want to know," a voice said, causing Pretty to look up. Shock was plastered on her face and a second later she'd snatched the half-typed page from the ancient typewriter and held both it and a couple of finished sheets to her chest.

"Angel, I'm not doing anything," Pretty said quickly, trying to smile at Sephiroth but only managing to blush a violent shade of violet. In all the years that he'd known Pretty, Sephiroth actually couldn't remember her blushing more than a handful of times.

"Practicing your typing is fine," Sephiroth said, leaning on the door-frame as if to safely allow her a bit of space. "I don't mind you using the office to do it."

"I... er..." Pretty bit her lip. She had just realized something.

She had accidentally left her previous masterwork in the typewriter the night before.

"But for the record, Cloud does not scream. He moans. And..."

At that moment, Pretty let out an anguished cry and made the resolution to never type again.


End file.
